The Nameless Alchemist
by 411djdj
Summary: The next generation of Alchemists try to survive amid an Amestris civil War. The Anti-Alchemist extremist group has been waging War on Amestris for the past ten years. They will not stop until Alchemy is eradicated. A young Alchemist finds herself struggling to make sense of the world around her, decipher her past and save the future of Alchemists and non alchemists alike.
1. Chapter 1 The nameless alchemist

In a dimly lit room the raven haired girl was hard at work. Her face displayed her cold hard determination. Dragging her chalk across the rough, exposed floorboards, she drew a complex alchemical transmutation circle. She scurried back and forth, neatening the chalk lines and adding cryptic symbols. After hours of careful work, she stood back and marveled at her creation. She almost allowed a slight smile to creep onto her face. Almost.

She was finally ready. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the cage. Her hands shook as she produced a key from her pocket and slipped into the rusty lock. She slowly and noiselessly turned the key. It unlocked with a faint click. The girl froze and stared into the cage anxiously for several minutes. She sighed in relief when they remained fast asleep. She reached in and grabbed the smaller man. She slung him over her back and carried him to the middle of the circle relieved that the sedatives hadn't worn off yet. She gently lifted the man off her shoulders and onto the floor. She then restrained his hands and turned back to the cage. She lifted her final hostage over her shoulder. The man was easily twice her size and probably weighed at least three times as much as her. She struggled a bit under the weight of the load but she did not allow herself to drop him. She placed him in the circle next to the other man and restrained his hands too. She backed up out of the circle and took a deep breath. Now she was ready.

Kneeling down on the rough floor boards she considered what she was doing. It was the ultimate taboo but she was sure she had cracked it. She remembered searching this house for food and coming across some strange alchemy research disguised as a cook book. It was a recipe of sorts but not the type of food normal girls should cook. Her brother was skeptical but she recognised what is was immediately. It seemed to be research concerning the fabled philosopher's stone. Upon deciphering the whole text she was shocked. The process for making a philosopher's stone was simple but the main ingredient was horrible. Philosopher's stones were literally containers for human souls. That text opened her eyes to the true nature of alchemy and its true potential. The girl also found novels on past failed attempts at making a philosopher's stone. They did not require human sacrifices and she believed that was the reason they failed. She also found some books on Human Transmutation. She read them eagerly. One volume documented all previous known failed attempts in extreme detail. She noticed something. Theoretically they all should have worked. None of them violated the law of equivalent exchange. Or did they?

That is when she had her Eureka moment. She realized that all the failed attempts only used ingredients for a body but nothing in exchange for a soul. She cracked it. "An Eye for an eye" she thought "a soul for a soul" It was only logical. She originally wanted to do research on this. She thought she was going to escape this hell and flee to central. There she would apprentice under her brother and someday become a State Alchemist. She would use her research money to try her theory not on humans but on dying animals. Maybe she could save a dying cat and make it a new body or something of that nature. But that dream ended when they arrived.

Her brother fought against the two demons she now had captured. He used alchemy and melee combat in an effort to stop them but they overpowered him. those men fought like monsters, like they didnt feel pain. Just thinking about it sent shivers down the girl's spine. Her brother managed to subdue the smaller man but the larger man lunged after the youngest sister. The raven haired girl stepped in front of the child to protect her. She fought off the attacks. She was not as skilled as her brother but she could still hold her own against the man. He was extremely strong but slow in both body and wits. She held her steel necklace shaped like a transmutation circle. "How do you like the taste of my alchemy" she thought but the creature was immune. This fact disturbed her most of all Towards the end of her fight she found herself bladeless clinging to the man's back with one arm and holding a lit piece of firewood in the other. How she came to be there is a mystery even she can't solve. In a last ditch attempt to save her siblings she used the torch seared a alkehestic circle onto his back. She activated it and he fell to the ground paralyzed. She drew another quick circle with her own blood on the floor. She flung her alkahestric markers at the back of her brother's opponent who had risen up and looked unharmed. She activated the circle by her feet and the man fell. She ran over to her brother who was slumped on the floor. He was seriously injured by the small man's blade. He smiled at her despite the pain and said he was sorry then passed into the oblivion. She did not only see him leave she felt it too. She sensed that the dragon pulse no longer flowed within him. He was dead.

The girl remembered how scared and alone she felt. She dimly remembered locking the evil men in a cage and knocking them out with tranquilizers in case they overcame her alkahestry. She weeped beside her brother knowing that now she was the only one caring for the youngest sister. She was afraid and felt useless against the power that took her brother away. "Stupid War" She thought. "stupid, stupid war" she banged her fists on the floor so hard that her human transfiguration notes came crashing off the bookshelf behind her and landed on her head. That is when she decided to put her theory to the test. Thinking of her brother and how his beautiful golden hair was caked with his own blood and thinking of the look in his eyes when his life fled him strengthened her. She would not fail. She would bring him back. She looked at the men in the center of the circle. The small one stirred. He surveyed at his surroundings and his gaze eventually fell on the runes encircling him. His wine colored eyes flashed with recognition and horror. She could tell that he knew exactly what the circle was. After a few moments, he finally noticed the Raven-haired girl kneeling at the edge of the circle. She smiled a wicked, malicious smile at him. He stared into the deep pools of molten gold that were her eyes and searched for any signs of empathy but all he found was hatred and anger.

She was happy that her sacrifice would be conscious throughout the transmutation. She decided to waste no more time. Soon the tranquilizers would completely wear off. She had to do it immediately. She clapped her hands together. Blue light flashed from her palms and she struck them onto the circle. The entire circle glowed. Dark Purple mist erupted from its surface and swirled around its edge in thick heavy tendrils. The men shrieked in agony but the Raven haired girl laughed. Her cackling stopped when she heard a voice behind her. She turned around. It was her little sister. She screamed at her sister telling her to leave but it was too late. Her sister screamed so the raven haired girl turned around. The men were gone but the floor had opened up and the entire circle was dominated by a large eye. They stared at it in fear and amazement. The amazement quickly vanished and turned into an extra dose of fear because the eye's long lashes suddenly became long reaching arms. They grabbed the alchemist girl and dragged her toward the eye in the center of the room. The little child reached out for her older sister but the older girl kicked her away in an attempt to save her from the reaching hands. In doing so,the alchemist lost her footing and fell into the eye.

She fell and kept falling into the she was in a white world. A ghostly white girl sat before her. The ghost girl was only the outline of a body, not even a real ghost.

"Excuse me miss, Where am I?" the alchemist questioned.

"You stand before the Gate. Little Human" the figure answered coldly

"Why?" inquired.

"Why!" the figure mocked. "Because you pathetic mortal decided to mess with me. To do my job! You arrogant insolent alchemist. You are here because you believed you were more powerful than death, more powerful than life and worst of all, stronger than God. Now you will face punishment. You have opened the gate and it will swallow you whole. That is why you are here you ignorant fool."

The girl looked over her shoulder and saw a massive pair of stone doors with ancient reliefs upon its surface. The doors creaked open and the little hands reached out and grabbed her again. They pulled her into the doors into the darkness. Once she was through the doors shut.

Pictures flashed all around her and the little hands grabbed her head. It was like they were pumping information into her brain. She was curious and terrified. Suddenly all the random bits of information aligned themselves and fit perfectly together. It was like she was seeing the world with new eyes. She was so thrilled she almost forgot her fear. Then a white figure approached her. He called out her name. "Brother" She yelled. He held out his hand and she reached for it but it was too high up. "I cant reach you" she yelled. "I am not tall enough" she screamed furiously tears rolling down her face. "You can reach" He told her but she whimpered " No. I am not tall enough". Her brother frowned and disappeared and she emerged through the gate back into a white world of nothingness tears streaming down her face. The white figure reappeared behind her and spoke.

"How was it child?" it said mockingly. The raven haired alchemist dried her tears and stood up straight. The terror was replaced by determination. She was determined to be strong for her brother's sake. She armoured herself in false courtesy and turned around.

"Quite excellent." She said she smiled politely. "It seems I have forgotten my manners; I am going through a trying time and I sincerely apologize for my earlier outburst. I haven't even properly introduced myself."

"I go by many names. But you may call me truth or God. whichever you prefer." The spirit said as she eyed the girl suspiciously. "It seems I have forgotten my manners as well. Come have a seat" The raven haired girl sat down beside her and they proceeded to chat politely about things like the weather and the color of the grass. They remarked how dreadful the uprising is and made nice smalltalk. During a lull in the conversation, the ghostly apparition decided she was through with the niceties.

"Not to be blunt but what are you doing girl?" it said. "Do you think yourself brave and courageous? I sense the great fear inside of you. All you want to do is run away and hide behind your older brother. Isnt that right? Child, stop pretending to be the brave strong hero because you are not. You are delusional. You cannot be brave if you are scared."

"You are wrong." The girl said coldly. "I am brave because I am scared. You have to be scared in order to be brave. Bravery is defying fear"

"Well, Well, Well, the little girl thinks she is a philosopher" it replied

"My brother told me that. He was fearless though, not brave. I could tell he wasnt afraid like me."

"This Brother of yours, was he the one you tried to transmute"

"Yes." the golden eyed girl said as she stared off into the white void

"Why? Human transmutation is a taboo. An alchemist of your skills should know that."

"I know. Even a novice like myself is taught this rule." she answered. She took a deep breath then continued. "I broke this taboo because without my brother, my sister and I will die. He is our protector. I cannot fight as well as he can. I cannot hope to protect myself from the evil in the world. He is more knowledgeable and stronger. I am weak compared to him."

"You really are delusional." it said then it took the girls hands into her own and stared into her deep eyes. "You are stronger than he was. Compared to you he is weak." The girl ripped her hands away and started crying.

"You Lie." she sobbed. "It cannot be. I am weak and soft and just a child"

"No I am the painful truth. You dear child have been telling yourself a sweet lie to protect yourself. You are not weak but afraid. afraid of yourself" It told her. "If you are so weak explain how you subdued those two men when your brother could not. Explain how you were able to decipher the research notes. Explain how you were able to come the closest to correctly executing Human Transmutation." It yelled. The alchemist was silent. "If you have such a weak heart how could you sacrifice two human beings? You even smiled the entire time!"

"I would have to kill anyway so why waste their deaths when I could profit from it. It was the logical thing anyone would do." she said "I wasn't even strong enough to keep my sister out of the room." the girl began to cry

"Most humans would most definitely not sacrifice Human life." It yelled exasperated. "You know Alchemy and Alchahestrey a feat even your brother could not match. You are not weak. You are strong and powerful. Open your eyes child. Are you so scared of your own abilities that you must lie to yourself?"

The ghost went silent. The girl continued to sob and after a long time. The young alchemist dried her tears on the edge of her sleeve and looked up. The spirit noticed a bit of hardness in her eyes that hadn't been there before;

"What now" she said.

"I must collect my toll." It said glumly. It pitied the poor creature so gifted yet so unwilling to see it.

"What?" The girl sat up straight and her eyes were open wide.

"I have taken you through the gate. Per the law of equivalent exchange you must give me something of equal value in return." The spirit thought for a moment and collected herself. This was the first time she actually dreaded collecting a toll. It was strange.

"So What will you have of me?" She said. Her big golden eyes stared at her frightened. She then put on her brave face and said "Take whatever you need. It is the law after all. I promise I will never regret it because it was what I wanted."

"One of your brother's sayings?"

"No. I just thought of it"

"Well then. The law of equivalent exchange. An eye for an eye. I shall take one of your eyes for I have taught you to see. but that only fulfills part of your debt."

"What is the other part?"

"I shall take your memories. Not all of them but just the personal memories of your childhood. I will leave a partial memory of this day so you shall remember why you cannot remember." It said sadly. It raised its hand and a searing pain ran across the girl's face. She cried in agony as one of her beautiful golden eyes disappeared. She feinted. "Goodbye child" the ghost whispered "for your sake I hope we will never meet again." Truth smiled a bit. "This might actually be a kindness to her". It opened the gates and the black hands pulled the child back into the plain of reality

The nameless raven haired girl awoke on the floor. She saw a knife heading towards her face. Instinctively she grabbed the assailant's wrist, twisted it in a sharp motion deflecting the knife. She sprang to her feet and drew her knife. She lunged at the man and they engaged in a deadly dance. He scored the first mark giving her a shallow cut down her forearm. He knocked her to the ground. The jarring impact made the knife slip out of her hand. He prepared to stab her but she kicked him in the face. She then reached over and grabbed her own knife and stuck it through his heart. She watched the light leave his golden eyes.

"What the hell" he exclaimed. "Im bleeding. Im dying. What the hell did you do to me"

The girl smiled.

A high pitched scream echoed throughout the room. She turned and saw an identical man holding a child. He seemed to be attempting to tear her apart. The raven haired girl snuck up behind him and opened his throat from ear to ear. The child screamed again. Blood covered her arms. The man fell to the ground. She spun around looking for more assailants but she felt no other souls. She took the girl into her arms and ran out the door refusing to look back. She collapsed against the wall exhausted. The little girl crawled out of her arms and curled up into a ball and sobbed quietly.

The adrenaline from the fight wore off and pain washed over the alchemist's body. She realized the blood coating her face was her own. She looked into the mirror across the hall and saw she had only one eye. She was confused. She did not know where or who she was. She could remember tons and tons of information but nothing specifically pertaining to herself. She slowly remembered the white room and the ghostly spirit. Her hand trembled and her vision started to blur. She realized she was losing a lot of blood and had to act quickly. She used some alkahestery to close up the wound around her eye. She wiped the blood away using her sleeve. She saw that her left eye was gone and an empty hole remained where it had once been. The little girl screamed and pointed at her face so she tore a strip of cloth and fashioned a makeshift eye patch. "I need new clothes and a plan." she thought. She told the child she would be right back and she set off to explore wherever she was.

She found a set of stairs and began to climb. She opened the door at the top. It looked like she was some sort of library. It was a huge library. She saw a door at the other end and opened it cautiously. She emerged into some sort of great hall. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. She wandered about the large mansion and was surprised that it seemed to be untouched except for one room. In that room everything was in disarray. It was obvious a fight had taken place. The body of another golden-haired man identical to the two downstairs lay peacefully sleeping. He was dead like the others. She found a nice sword that fit perfectly in the scabbard she was wearing and slid it in. She also found a wide assortment of daggers and knives and stuffed them into their sheaths. On the second floor she scavenged for supplies. She found a tent, sleeping bags and a large leather backpack along with other camping equipment in the hall closet. She helped herself to them. She then raided all the jewelry in the house and searched through the closets. She picked out some nice clothes for her and the girl. The alchemist striped out of her bloddy garmets and donned a tight black sleeveless shirt, a pair of black pants, leather combat boots and a heavy coat with a high collar lined with pockets. She packed a bag for the child too. She found some food in the kitchen and a horse out back. It had Automail legs. She returned to the secret staircase and grabbed the girl. She changed the child's clothes and debated her next move.

She decided she needed to first find out where she was. She found a map in one of the rooms and looked through it. She remembered what territories belonged to the State and which ones belonged to the anti alchemist rebels and marked them. She would avoid them at all costs.. A dot in the northern sector caught her eye. She could not recall a town being there but there was one marked on the map. "Strange" she thought. The dot looked like it had been drawn on the map. She compared it to a map of the north she found in the library and saw it was not on the other maps. There was a note on the back too. It was in a language she was not familiar with but she managed to make out the words "safehouse", "alchemist" and '"old friend". She guessed the dot was a safehouse with someone who might know what is going on. She decided that if she was going to find out who she was, there would be the best place to look. She used alchemy to seal the house up. No one would be able to enter. She slung the kid on the saddle and mounted the horse. The child still refused to speak to her.

She dug her legs into the sides of the horse and was off. Using the Northern Star as her guide she left.


	2. Chapter 2: A new home

They rode on and on. Eventually the children found North City. That made travel much easier because they finally knew which direction to head in. They needed to keep heading North. So on and on they went. The little girl still refused to talk or make any noise at all so they rode in silence. The Raven-haired alchemist thought on and on about who she was and where she came from. She could not piece it together. There were times she almost remembered her name. Almost. She came to the conclusion that for the time being, she was a blank slate. She could be anybody. She held the weak child in her arms and she knew what she was going to be: She was going to be Strong. She will continue to fight and search for some way to remember but she will also fight for justice and freedom because right now she was nobody and she wanted to be someone.

Months flashed by and She fought through Snow, she fought through rain, she killed bandits and bears and still fought on. She helped strangers secretly and tales spread throughout the country side of a mysterious creature that did work in the middle of the night. Farmers and housewives started to leave food out for the spirit in hopes of persuading it to fix their fence or plow their fields. After fixing a gate, the Raven haired Alchemist sat down on the stoop of a remote cabin and helped herself to the crisp apple pie the owners had left out on the doorstep. She handed a slice to her mute companion who eagerly wolfed it down. She was getting close to her destination. The raven-haired girl took a bite. It tasted delicious. She was piling a second slice onto her plate when she heard a noise in the bushes. She put down the plate and smiled a bit.

"Is this the first time you have waited all night to catch a glimpse of the mysterious creature who fixes fences?" She said. The child gave her a strange look but said nothing. After a few moments the bushes responded.

"It is my fourth night." a young boyish voice responded. "I recorded the sightings, calculated your trajectory and travel time. You are four nights late"

"I am sorry. I had trouble with a bear. Now, come out of the bushes." There was a flash of blue light coming from the bushes. The girl sighed. _I guess the kid wants to fight _she thought. She turned around and saw a young boy probably close to thirteen holding a large sword as big as him. His large golden eyes were filled with determination. She sighed. It wasnt going to be much of a fight. She was taller and three years his senior. She stood up.

"What are you doing?" She asked

"I am capturing you"

"Useing that sword?"

"No useing that net." The kid said. The girl looked up and there was a giant net hanging over their heads. It came crashing down and she was trapped. The child gave a loud triumphant woop. The Raven haired girl drew a knife and easily cut her way out of the net. The kid lunged at her but she easily avoided his blade. She turned to the little girl and told her to go to the horse. The child nodded and ran away taking the pie with her. She turned back to her young opponent but this time he had company.

Standing next to him was a tall boy with the same golden hair as the younger child. She guessed they were brothers. He looked about eighteen and was taller than her. He held a long black sword.

"I see you finally caught the person who has been sneaking around at night. Good work Maes" the tall man told the boy. "Now, who are you and what are you doing in these parts?"

"I am no one" She responded "I am helping those who need it. Thanks for the pie" She turned and began to walk away but she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around. The Older brother was staring at her. _Dam he is fast. _she thought. "I have got to keep moving. Its the only thing I can do."

"I am not just letting you leave. Not until I am sure you are ok" he said

"Thanks for being concerned about me but I have more fences to fix" she replied as she shrugged his hand away. He darted around her and held his sword up menacingly.

"Why? Why do you fix fences?" he said

"Because I like to fix things that are broken and I like to think someone will wake up and find it done. It is a troubled time and I can't do much about it right now but you know what I can do? I can fix fences. If my repair work makes someone happy and they forget the world for even a mere moment, I am content. I am passing through here anyway Why not fix a fence or two?"

"Doesn't it take awhile to fix a fence…." he responded his voice trailed off as he gazed towards the fence. The raven-haired girl said a silent prayer hoping she had erased the transmutation circle she used to fix the fence but her prayers went unanswered. He saw it. She drew her sword and stared at the man. _It looks Like I will be making a run for it. I guess I was too preoccupied with the pie to remember to erase the dam circle _She thought as she shifted her stance and prepared for an attack but the boy started to laugh.

"A little run away alchemist eh? Why don't you come inside for a bit?" the last part was more of a command than a question. Her pulse quickened. _Whatever is inside is probably not good. _

"No thanks. I shall be leaving now" She said coolly. She tried to look as threatening as possible. She hoped they would be too scared of alchemy to mess with her. She was wrong.

"Hold on miss. I dont think you should go so soon. There is a storm coming." He stuck out his blade and blocked her exit. _So thats how its going to be. _She thought. She tried to push his sword aside with her own but it would not budge. The little boy was behind her. She was trapped

"I can handle myself." She said to the boys and to herself.

They closed in around her. She desperately searched for a way out. _Calm down! A panicked girl is a dead girl _ she thought. She decided to use alchemy to get out of this. She had no time to think. She clapped her hands together and slammed them on the ground and a huge burst of energy ran through her. She raised herself up on a high platform high above the bewildered boys. The older boy barked at the younger kid to hide and he obeyed. After collecting her thoughts she vaulted off her pedestal and landed behind him. She turned around and bid him farewell. That was a big mistake. He snapped out of his bewildered state at the sound of her voice. He charged her. She parried the attack. He was fast but she was faster. She scored two shallow cuts along his arm before he managed to graze her cheek. She was winning but quickly growing tired. The weeks on the road were starting to show. She had to end it fast. She looked at his blade. It was steel. How she knew that, she did not know. She did not only know it was steel, she knew what the exact alloy it was, she could sense the imperfections in the blade. She knew that now was not the time for questions so she acted. She flung her blade at him then clapped her hands together and turned his blade to dust. His face showed equal parts amazement and utter disbelief. She picked up her sword and turned to leave.

"How?" He asked shakily. She kept on walking. He ran after her again and grabbed her shoulder. "Stop" He said. "I am not going to hurt you"

"Prove it" she said in a cold icy voice. He bent down and worked in the dirt. She began to walk away.

"Hey where are you going?"

"Away from here…." Her words died away when she saw what he drew in the dirt. It was a transmutation circle. He bent over and activated it. It turned the dirt around it into a new sword.

"It is safe here. You don't have to run anymore." he said. He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. This time she didn't turn away. She looked over her shoulder and up into his eyes. They reminded her of the eyes of the man she tried to bring back. They were familiar and somehow comforting.

"Please stay for the night at least" he said.

"Ok. If you insist" she said "I also travel with a young girl. She should be over among those trees with my horse and belongings." She gestured to the woods just then the horse appeared from between the leaves and the moonlight revealed the young boy leading it and the little girl perched high in the saddle eating pie.

"She struggled until I promised to give her more pie once we are inside" the boy said

"Is that the pie Mom made?" the older boy said

"Maybe…."

"You are so dead"

"He is right" said an older voice. The girl could tell it did not come from the two boys. She turned around and saw a man standing on the porch. In the dim light she could tell it was their father. "Who do we have here?" He said after spying the alchemist.

"She is the one who has been fixing people's fences." The young boy said. "I saw her fixing it"

"Well, thank you miss for repairing our fence" he said.

"Your Welcome Sir"

"Do you have a place to sleep tonight?"

"I usually sleep under the stars"

"You and your young friend are welcome to the spare room for tonight" He gestured to the boys. "Take the horse to the stable and see that it is fed. I will show these two inside." The boys rushed to obey. "You two look exhausted." he said as he took the little girl from the saddle and led the older one inside. The two girls went up into the cozy guestroom and crawled in the soft bed. They fell asleep immediately.

Back outside, the older boy and his father discussed the mysterious girls.

"Strange girl" the father said "How did she fix the fences?"

"Alchemy" the oldest son said.

"I bet she was someone's apprentice whose home was destroyed." the father said sadly

"I don't know. Her alchemy was powerful. Can she stay here for awhile? Maybe she could help out around the house? Mother could use an extra set of hands"

"Maybe. Why are you so interested in our one eyed friend anyway?"

"She did something impossible"

"Nothing is impossible". The father said defiantly.

"She used Alchemy without a transmutation circle" the boy said "I just don't understand it. She was able to perform complex transmutations without any circles. She raised the ground under her feet and she turned my sword to dust. How is that even possible? Even with a circle she should not have been able to mess with my sword. She did not know the exact elemental composition its well.. impossible" His father turned away from him. His golden eyes stared off into the distance but he did not answer. "You know how she does it. Don't you?" His son asked but his father refused to respond. They sat on the porch in silence for a long time. After awhile, the father said

"I know who taught her and that is all I am going to say on the matter. Goodnight" with that he left and went back to bed.

The Raven haired girl awoke to the smell of bacon and laughter. She could hear children running through the hall and being shushed by their mother. A Dog barked in the yard and the large house teemed with life. She decided that she needed a name. The family will ask what her name is and it will be a bit strange if she can't answer. She listed some names in her head but none seemed to fit. Then a raven pecked at the window and she knew. Her name was Raven. It fit her somehow. She was always flying from something. She found her belongings at the foot of her bed along with a note saying to wash up in the bathroom then come down for breakfast. She looked around the room and saw a door that led to a bathroom. She drew herself a bath and washed the grime of the road away. She relaxed in the hot water. It was good to be clean again. She dried herself and got dressed. She then woke the younger girl and made her take a bath too. While she was in the tub, Raven made the guest bed up and tidied up the room. She then helped the little child get herself clean

She was pulling a fresh shirt over the little girl's head when there was a knock on the door. "Breakfast is ready" called a familiar voice. It was the little boy from the night before. Raven finished dressing the child and opened the door.

"Glad to see you are awake and ready" he said excitedly as he dragged them down the stairs into the dining room. "I cant wait for you to meet everyone"

Raven sat down at the long table among the family of golden-eyed children. Their father was reading a book at the far end of the table. The eighteen year-old boy sat down beside her.

"I am afraid we have not been properly introduced, I am Alphonse Elric" he said

"I am Raven Smith" She said.

"I am Maes" said the young boy who tried to capture her from across the table. "That is Sara" He pointed to an older girl "That is Roy" he pointed to a young boy "And thats his twin sister Trisha"

"Breakfast is ready! I hope you are all hungry!" Said a woman who Raven assumed was Mrs. Elric. She brought in a huge plate piled high with eggs and bacon and pancakes. It looked so delicious. They all ate their fair share of Breakfast. The food was as delicious as it looked. After the food was gone the Elrics bombarded the girls with questions. Raven answered all of them. After breakfast, Mrs. Elric sent all the children off to complete their chores. They protested loudly but Mrs. Elric made them go work. She grabbed the dirty breakfast dishes and left leaving Raven and the little girl alone with Mr. Elric.

"Hello Raven. My name is Edward Elric, I am pleased to meet you" he said. "Where are you from?" Raven recognized his name but she could not remember how.

"I am from nowhere in particular really, I have been traveling around alot lately" She said

"Who is your young friend?"

"I am not really sure. I found her abandoned in a ruined house by the side of the road. She looked half starved and she was all alone so I took her in. I don't think she likes me very much though" He smiled a bit.

"My sons tell me you are quite the alchemist and fighter"

"I am fairly decent but I wouldn't say I am above average"

"Al tells me you preformed complex transmutations without a transmutation circle. Is that true?" Raven did not like where the conversation was headed. _He knows _she thought

"Yes sir" She replied quietly

"Are you telling me the truth..." he said. The way he said truth, it sent shivers down her spine. _He knows. Somehow he knows I have seen it_ she thought. Then it clicked. She remembered the name Edward Elric. He was the Fullmetal alchemist. The fantastical tales of his adventures flooded back. Were they mere fairy tales? She thought they were not. The man sitting in front of her was a legend.

"Yes" she responded

"Where are you headed to?"

"I am not sure. I just keep moving forward. I have no place to go and no place to head back to. Maybe I will try joining the military and patrol the Wall. I heard Drachma is restless"

"If you join the army what happens to the child?"

"I will carry her around if I must. There might be some work for her to do like helping in the kitchen or something"

"She can stay here." the man said. The child leapt out of her seat and grabbed Raven's Legs. She looked at the man. Her eyes looked determined. She would not be parted from Raven. "It seems that the girl likes you after all" There was a crash in the kitchen. Ed quickly sprang up to see what was wrong. "Stay here. I will be right back" he said.

In the kitchen Ed found his wife Winrey on the floor. She fell off a step ladder trying to put the dishes away. He quickly scooped her up into his arms and brought her to the dining room and set her on the table.

"Are you alright" He asked.

"Yes but my ankle hurts like crazy I think I sprained it" she said

"I will go call for a doctor"

"That is not necessary Ed, It is only a little sprain. It will be fine"

"Could I take a look?" Raven asked hesitantly"I know a bit of alchehestry"

"That would be lovely" Mrs. Elric said. Raven walked over and examined the ankle. It was sprained pretty badly but Raven knew just what to do. She took out a piece of chalk from her coat pocket and drew an alkahestic transmutation circle under Mrs. Elric's ankle. She then activated the circle and healed the wound.

"I healed most of it but you better rest it for a day or two." Raven examined what was left of the wound. "It looks fully healed but I should put a compression wrap around it just in case. I will go get one from my bag. Dont move it until I get back" Raven dashed up the stairs into the guest room and dug through her bags. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Elric discussed what to do with the girls.

"Ed, you should take her on as an apprentice." Winrey said. "She looks to be quite talented" She hoped her husband would take her on as an apprentice. Ever since the war started he has been depressed because he felt useless. He believed he should be on the front lines fighting but he could not fight anymore. It broke her heart to see him like that. Maybe a new apprentice would cheer him up. Maybe it would show him that he was far from useless. The state still kept him on as a State alchemist due to his groundbreaking research even though he lost the ability to perform alchemy. He saw it as pity but it really was because of his talent.

"Honey, I don't take on apprentices." He said

"What about Al and Maes and Sara, you taught them"

"Thats different. They are my children, not my apprentices"

"Well, make an exception. She is obviously talented and has no where to go."

"I cant. I wont."

"If you wont take her on as an apprentice, I might. I wonder if she is interested in Automail"

"Why do you want her to be your apprentice?"

"She has nowhere to go and seems like a good person. She cares for the little mute girl she found on the side of the road and she has been wandering aimlessly around the wilderness for god knows how long sneaking into people's yards at night and fixing their house up expecting no reward for her services. She does not even know where she is going. She is just wandering around looking for somewhere to belong. I want to help her. She is so talented yet so lost. Thats why I want to take her as an apprentice but I think she would make a better apprentice for you."

"I am not taking on an apprentice."

"Isn't that what Izumi said once?" she said. Her husband sighed. She hit a nerve. She knew he was going to help her now. He was going to show Raven the same kindness Izumi showed him and Al. "She also reminds me of a certain Golden-haired alchemist I knew when I was a kid."

"Fine. I will offer to take her on as an apprentice." He said. He did it to please his wife and partly because he actually cared about the girl. His wife was right. He admitted to himself that he had alot in common with the girl. _Me and the girl have more in common than you realize _he thought.

They heard the footsteps on the stairs as Raven came down. She took a piece of cloth out from her pocket and a jar full of clear liquid. She soaked the fabric in the liquid and wrapped it tightly around Mrs. Elric's ankle. Raven's deft fingers expertly knotted the bandage. Her experienced hands made quick work of the task.

"The liquid was a salve that will help keep the swelling down. I would recommend not putting too much stress on your ankle for the next two days." Raven said

"Thank you Raven. It feels better already"

"Raven could you help me pick up the dishes in the kitchen?" Mr. Elric asked

"Sure"

They went to the kitchen and found the floor scattered with broken dishes. It was a complete mess. Shards of china littered the floor. They stepped carefully through the rubble not wanting to harm their feet.

"This is a big mess" Mr. Elric said. He looked sadly down at the dishes. He looked hopeless like he was not sad about the mess but the fact that he could do nothing to fix it. He bent over and started to pick up the pieces. Raven did too. They stuck the dish fragments in a big bin.

It was taking forever to pick them all up and Raven noticed it was the best china in the cabinet.

"My wife made an excellent suggestion while you were upstairs. She suggested that I take you on as my apprentice." He broke the silence. "So.. are you interested in being my apprentice?"

That was the last thing Raven expected him to ask. She thought it over. It would be amazing to be the apprentice of the legendary Fullmetal Alchemist. but she wondered, would he be so keen on taking her on as an apprentice if he knew what she had done. She wanted to say Yes so badly but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She stopped working and sat down on the floor.

"I would love to be your apprentice. but I think I should tell you my full story before you agree to teach me. After you hear the full story of how I came to be here I doubt you will want to let me stay but I will let you decide that for yourself." She then told him all she could remember about herself. By the end of her story she was crying. Ed put his arm around her shoulder while she cried.

"I still want to teach you child." He said

"really?" Raven sniffled. "How could you want to after I… I…"

"You have learned your lesson correct? No Human transmutation"

"Yes sir."

"Then I don't see a problem" he said. Raven dried her tears and smiled.

"Thank you. I promise I wont dissapoint you"

"First lesson. Fix all the dishes." He said. Her eyes grew wide.

"What?" She said astonished "How… I dont.." He shushed her.

"Trust your instincts. I know you can do it."

"I will try"

"No. You will do it. Compared to a sword, Dishes should be easy" Raven had forgotten all about the sword she turned to dust. _I can do this_ she thought. She quieted her mind and focused on the dishes. She told herself she could fix them. She was about to give up when she saw it. She knew how to fix them. She remembered something she saw when she fell through the gate. It allowed her to sense what the dishes were made out of. She focused on her desire to fix them. She clapped her hands together and slammed them on the ground releasing blue lightning. It fixed the dishes. _Woah _She looked around the kitchen. She realized she could still sense what things are made out of.

"See. You can do it" He said. He put a hand on her shoulder.

That night at dinner, Mr. Elric announced Raven's apprenticeship. They all cheered and welcomed the new addition to their family.


	3. Chapter 3: One is all, all is one

After a month of living with the Elrics, Mr. Elric decided to fully begin Raven's apprenticeship. He brought her to a remote part of the wilderness. He handed her a knife and said "I will be back in a month. Your first task is to survive without alchemy for a month. When I come back I want you to have understood the phrase 'All is one. One is all'" Raven nodded. She understood. Mr. Elric left.

Raven decided she first needed some shelter because it was growing cold and it looked like it was going so snow. She knew exactly what to do. She survived on her own in the same wilderness for months after all. She found a small cave hidden in the face of a cliff. She cut some wood and stacked it inside as firewood. She cut some large pieces and fashioned a makeshift door to conceal the cave opening and to keep the wind out. She built herself a small fire and used sticks to start it. She gathered leaves and piled them up in place of a mattress. _Back in the wild. Surviving for a month will be easy. I survived for six months while caring for a toddler. _ She was right. She lived comfortably in the wild for two weeks. She lived off the land and hunted for food.

On one of her early morning hunts, she spotted some bear tracks along with the footprints of a human. She decided to follow them. They led her to a grove of pine trees where a large bear was attacking a man. She had no time to think. She spotted a sword lying near her in the bishes. She grabbed it and killed the bear. She then dragged the man back to her cave. She went back and grabbed the dead bear and hauled him back too.

After she was back in her shelter, she took a look at the man. He was a young man in his late teens. He had dark brown hair. She examined him. He had many broken bones, most of his ribs were crushed and it looked like he had major internal bleeding. She took a deep breath. The only way to save him was to defy her teacher and use alchemy. It could get her trouble and get her kicked out of her apprenticeship. She hesitated for a moment but decided saving his life was worth the risk. She drew a alkahestic transmutation circle on the ground and activated it. This healed him. As the alkahestry began to work, she sensed his breathing stabilize. He was out of the danger zone and in stable condition. She let out a huge sigh of relief. She then skinned the bear and roasted the meat. It tasted delicious.

By the time she was finished eating, the boy awoke. he sat up and looked around dazed. He stared at the girl curiously. He started to rise but stopped when he saw the transmutation circles drawn all around him. Fear crept into his eyes. He looked like he felt a bit of pain and he sank back down into his cot.

"Who are you? Where am I? What the hell did you do to me?" he shouted. Raven tossed him a chunk of bear meat.

"Eat up" she said. He refused to touch the food. He sat there glaring at her. "You are in my cave. I found you getting mauled by a bear and I rescued you. You had major internal bleeding so I used some medical alchemy to heal you up. You're welcome." she said coldly. "Now eat up. I didn't save you life to watch you starve."

He ate the bear cautiously at first but after a few bites he veraciously devoured the beast. He wiped the grease off his face with the his sleeve and said "Thank you for the meal, alchemist"

"You say alchemist like its a dirty word. Why?" Raven asked

"Because alchemy is evil. It kills people" he responded. _He is one of those people _she thought. She risked her apprenticeship to rescue an anti-alchemy nutjob. The anti-alchemists have been waging civil war in Amestris for the past ten years. They were exterminating all alchemy because they believe it is the devil's work. _He is a person though no matter what his beliefs so i guess I shouldn't leave him here to die. _She thought. He went on a rant about how evil alchemy is. Raven stopped paying attention after the first five minutes. When the speech approached half an hour she decided she had heard enough. She grabbed the sword she used to kill the bear and held it to his throat. His words died mid sentence.

"If I use this blade to kill a child, is the sword evil, or me? If I use it to kill a bear that is eating said child's face off is the sword doing good or me?"

The boy was silent.

"The sword is not good or evil right? It is how I use it . Correct?" she said. The boy nodded Raven continued. "So if I used alchemy to kill a child, what is evil? If I use it to heal who is doing the good?" she lowered the blade. "Alchemy is neither good nor evil. It is neutral. Whether it causes joy or sorrow depends on how you use it" She said as she dumped the sword into the boy's lap. She turned and sat by the fire making it clear that the conversation was over.

After awhile the boy stood up and walked over and sat beside Raven. She examined his face. He was no child. He was probably older than her but his words sounded so childish.

"I am sorry. I… I… never thought of alchemy like that before" he said "My name is Ivan by the way"

"Name's Raven" she said. "Why were you out in a snowstorm trying to kill a bear all by yourself?"

"I should ask you the same question"

"I am training"

"For what?"

"Life"

"I was trying to impress my father." he said sadly "He is so strong and courageous and I wanted to prove to him that I was too. I have always felt that he has been dissapointed with me"

"Sounds like he is a pretty tough father"

"Yea. I thought hunting alone so close to the wall would impress him. With all these Amestrian soldiers about, its dangerous to leave camp" Raven could not believe what he is saying. He basically said he was not from Amestris but from its northern neighbor.

"Wait you're from Drachma" Her eyes grew wide.

"Yea." he stared at her curiously

"How the hell did you get past fort Briggs?"

"I didnt"

"You did. Welcome to Amestris Kid."

"Crap. I need to get back"

"Why?"

"If I am seen on this side of the wall, it could give my father an excuse to go to war"

"Huh? I get that your dad's tough and all but starting a war? Isnt that the Czar's jo…." Then it hit her. "Wait a minute. You said your name was Ivan right? Like Ivan the Czar of Drachma's son?"

"Yes."

Raven realized the enormity of the situation. "We need to get you home."

"Agreed. Let's get going"

"Not so fast. You are still injured. I am not letting you go anywhere but back to bed for at least a few days" He groaned loudly but agreed

A few days later they prepared to head out. Raven was going to act as his guide. She wasn't overly familiar with the terrain but unlike Ivan, she at least could tell which country they were in. She headed out through the snow under the cover of darkness. Around midnight they were spotted. A border patrol saw them and ran after them. They ran for it and almost got away but they ran into another patrol and this time they weren't ready. They were captured and taken into the fort. They thought Raven and Ivan were Drachman spies. They were taken into separate interrogation rooms. Raven was interrogated by an Ishvalan wearing dark glasses named Miles.

"What is your name" he barked

"Raven Smith" she said

"Why are you sneaking around Briggs?"

"I wasnt sneaking. I am training to survive in the wilderness"

"Why?"

"I am not really sure. You would have to ask my teacher"

"Where can I find your teacher"

"That is classified information" Raven said. _Since Mr. Elric is a State Alchemist in hiding, I cant reveal his location. It conflicts with the Führer's orders _she wanted to say but she could not.

"Why is it classified? Under what order?"

"I am not permitted to say"

"If you can't give me any information, I must assume you are a Drachman spy."

"I would rather be imprisoned falsely than violate the order to conceal my teacher's identity"

"Your sent…." He was about to deliver her punishment when a tall blond haired women burst through the door.

"Miles" she said sternly. "Who is this girl?"

"A possible Drachman Spy. She had a friend too. We are interviewing him in the other room"

"I was already in that room and you know who I found?"

"Who?"

"Her little friend is Ivan. The Czar's kid. You've got some explaining to do girl."

"she says she is here on her teacher's orders but she says any other information is classified"

"Miles you are dismissed. I shall handle her myself" Miles left leaving the mysterious icy woman.

"I am major general Olivier Mira Armstrong. Do I rank high enough to hear your story?" the last part was mocking. "Tell me your secrets." She slammed her hand on the table. Raven decided that to impress this woman she needed to be brave. Raven clapped her hands together and slammed them down on the medal table. She turned the table into a row of swords.

"I am not sure how much I am permitted to say but I will tell you this: you've met him before."

the Major General stared at the swords unphased. She thought long and hard for a few moments then spoke

"I see. I believe I know who you are referring to. But that is not enough to keep me from giving you his old cell. Why did he send you out into the wilderness.?"

Raven nonchalantly turned the swords back into a table then said: "It is part of my training. I have to survive out here for a month without getting myself killed"

"Why are you with the Drachman"

"I found a bear snacking on him so I took him in and healed him. I didnt know he was a Drachman prince. He insisted on returning. I thought he was a Briggs soldier or something. I never imagined he wanted to return beyond the wall.

"Why did you follow him?"

"He is not completely healed. I was afraid he was going to accidentally reopen his wounds. I owed him one. He led me to a nice tasty bear."

The door opened and a tall man with black hair stepped in. He needed no introduction. He was Führer Roy Mustang.

"Well, I heard that this girl saved the kid's life. We should use that to our advantage" he said. Armstrong did not look amused.

"This is Drachma. they respect power, not politics."

"Alchemy is somewhat powerful and it saved the Czar's son."

"were you listening in on us" Armstrong accused.

"No I talked to the boy. He is nice kid. In a few years you will probably be guarding against him. We are bringing the girl and the kid to the peace negotiations."

"shouldnt we use him as a hostage?"

"No. we want allies not enemies"

"What's your name girl? Ivan refused to talk about you"

"Raven. I'm an apprentice" judging by the look she gave him, he knew what type of apprentice.

"You have my permission to reveal the name of your teacher"

"My teacher is Major Edward Elric."

The Führer laughed. "So that is why you are out in the snow? Is he still doing the whole survive for a month thing?"

"Yes sir."

"If he gives you any grief about this visit to Brigs, I will take you on as an apprentice. He would be an idiot to turn away such a promising girl but he can be stupidly stubborn at times. You are welcome to take the test to become a State Alchemist any time. I could use a good Alchemist like you."

"Thank you sir. I will complete my training and hopefully take the test."

"Now, we have an hour to get you and Ivan to look presentable for the peace conference so we better start moving"

Raven was sent to shower. She cleaned herself off and found a fresh pair of clothes awaiting her. They were nice and thick. She dressed quickly and found Miles waiting for her.

"The Führer told me who your teacher was" he said "I knew him and his brother fairly well. They were really good kids…."

"It is time to leave" The führer said as he walked in. Behind him stood Major General Armstrong and Ivan. Ivan walked over and stood next to her.

"Ivan I forgot. I have a present for you" the Führer said as he grabbed a package from a nearby attendant. He gave it to Ivan who opened it. He pulled it out of the large box. It was the bear pelt that Raven skinned from the bear she killed. She used it as an extra layer of warmth on their journey but Mustang had it cleaned and made into an actual rug. He even had glass eyes put into its face.

"thank you" Ivan said. Then they were off.

They arrived at the large shelter that was serving as the neutral point. Mustang and Armstrong went in first and met with the Czar. They then beckoned Raven and Ivan over. the Czar was outraged when he saw Ivan. He thought that that the Amestrian soldiers kidnapped him but Ivan managed to calm his dad down for long enough for him to explain. He presented his father with the bear skin rug and told his story. After he was done, he introduced Raven. Raven bowed respectfully to the Czar.

"Thank you child for saving my boy. How did you do it?" the czar asked

"She used alchemy" Ivan said. "she has opened my eyes father. I see now that alchemy is neither good nor evil. How you use it makes you good or evil"

"I see." he said. "Führer Mustang. Since you have taken good care of my son you have proven yourself to be a noble man. Nobler than John Focke. I trust my son;s judgement and Raven has shown him that alchemy is not wholly evil and you have shown me that the Amestris Military has greater honor than the rebels so, I would like to propose that we turn the non-aggression treaty into an alliance treaty and Drachma will happily provide asylum for persecuted alchemists as long as they do not cause trouble. Ivan, why don't you show your friend around camp while we talk"

"Sure" he said "come on Raven. There is so much to see"

Ivan showed Raven around camp. For the most part it was like Fort Briggs except it was open air, all the soldiers were in Drachman uniforms and there was Vodka but other than that it was very similar. Ivan and Raven had a wonderful time together. Raven stayed for another week while negotiations were being settled. She eventually had to depart though because she had to get back to her training. She bid Ivan farewell and headed back into the wild.

She arrived back at the tree where she was dropped off with a day to spare. She finally had time to think about the words "All is one. One is all" She reflected on her time with Ivan and realized that All people are human, they are all one and that one is only a small part of the all. Humans are not the only life out there. they have to look out for each other like Raven and Ivan. Raven protected Ivan from the bear and Ivan in turn helped to secure the alliance between the two nations to help alchemists like Raven and the Elrics. Even the camp showed her that the people were not so different. Briggs and the Drachman camp were so similar; Ivan and her had so much in common. It was like all humans were one and that one is only a small part of the all. Raven decided to tell this to Mr. Elric and hope he is not angry that she violated his instructions.

She decided to make dinner for him so she went hunting again and killed a deer. She cooked it up and just as she was plateing it, Mr. Elric arrived.

"How was it?"

"well… I kinda broke the rules but I helped Amestris secure an alliance with Drachma"

"Do tell." She could see he was surprised and curious and a bit bitter about her violating a rule.

She then told him about finding Ivan and how they were captured by Briggs soldiers and her adventures in the Drachman camp.

"Well you survived on your own for two weeks, cared for a wounded man for half a week and survived the Iron wall of Briggs so I guess I can call it a success. Since you probably used Alkahestry not Alchemy to heal the wound, you technically did not violate the no alchemy rule. Anyway, I can't have mustang stealing my apprentice. But more importantly do you understand the meaning of All is one and one is all.?" She explained her revelation and he was satisfied. "Come apprentice, we should get home. Winrey is making pie"

They walked home together and went home to eat some pie. Over the next year, Raven trained hard. She trained both her mind and body. Her alchemy and fighting skills greatly improved. She could tie Mr. Elric in hand to hand combat and beat Alphonse (Jr.) in alchemy. She was a prodigy. Ed was even surprised at how quickly she learned. While Raven was learning though, the Anti-Alchemist rebellion intensified. Now only Central and the North remained under the State's control. The rebels were approaching Central and the Military was too scattered to defeat them so Führer Mustang ordered an evacuation of civilians to Drachma and Xing and for all State Alchemists excluding a select few who were ordered to report to central command immediately, to leave the country and flee to Amestris's allies. The fighting got worse and tens of thousands packed their belongings up and fled to safety. Eventually, the fighting became so intense that the Elrics were being evacuated. Edward Elric was summoned to Central by the Führer. Al, Raven and Sara begged to go alone with him so they can attempt to earn their State Alchemist certification. After much begging, Mr. Elric decided that they were ready to take the test so they accompanied him south while Mrs. Elric and the other children went North to Drachma. From there they would cross into Xing and pay a visit to the emperor who happened to be Ed's old friend. Ed and the prospective State Alchemists headed to Central.


	4. Chapter 4: The State Alchemists

he State alchemist and his students walked into central command. It was empty. The entire city was a ghost town including the headquarters. The Elrics took their Alchemist entrance exams then were escorted by a small group of soldiers. They took them to the Führer. Führer Mustang met the Elrics in the abandoned great hall. He was there with a small group of his most trusted advisers and the highest State Alchemists.

"Woah. This place is empty" Al said

"Yes. It was difficult to do without alerting the enemy but I think we have them thoroughly confused." Mustang said "We made it seem like we were pretending to evacuate the city. We left a fake trail that would lead them to believe that we were actually amassing more troops under the guise of an evacuation but we really were evacuating people."

"Führer Grundman would be proud" Ed said as he put a reassuring hand on Mustang's shoulder.

"I just wish he were here to see it"

"So why have you called me down here?" Ed said "If you evacuating the city, why am I here?"

"I have not decided which safehouse to hide in and I was not sure how long it would take to get in contact with you once I was there"

"You dragged me into the heart of an impending battle just so you didnt have to wait to find me later?" Ed was angry "I brought my kids and my apprentice with me. You could at least have given me a warning."

"Hey, I never told you to bring them"

"Well i expected Cantral to be well guarded if you were personally summoning me!"

"I know it was part of the rouse"

"So thats it. I was a pawn to confuse your enemies! Is that all i am? Is that why you kept me as a state alchemist? In case you needed to sacrifice me in one of your schemes?"

"No." Mustang said firmly "Ed, you know I would never do that."

"Then why do you need me?" he screamed. Raven, Sara and Al were walking awkwardly behind them. Raven had never seen Mr. Elric get so angry before.

"Because they have a weapon that uses alchemy that no one else can figure out. It is harming thousands. I need you Ed to help me. I cant figure out how the hell they work." Mustang yelled. Ed stopped and was silent. Mustang relaxed a bit and gave him a small smile. "Trust me Ed. You never did when you were a kid but you are older now. Just Trust me. If you don't trust my judgement trust old Hawkeyes."

"Who are you calling old?" Mrs. Mustang climbed down from a hidden sniper spot high hidden in the hall. She was tall with blond hair. Their son Maes was with her too.

"I was just joking. Jeez. Riza put down the gun"

"You did always ask me to shoot you in the back if you step out of line" She smiled and slung the rifle over her shoulder. "I was teaching Maes how to shoot."

"Hi Lieutenant" Ed said.

"Oh hi Ed. Good to see you. What are you all up to?"

"Well seeing as how we are not scheduled to evacuate for another six hours, I thought it would be good to test and hopefully induct three new State Alchemists. Meet Alphonse Elric, Sara Elric and Raven Smith." The Führer said. "I will have some other Alchemists meet them in combat to test their skills." He called up two alchemists. One was an old man and the other a young Ishvalan girl. "Maes would you do me a favor and test Raven when it is her turn?"

"yes sir." The boy said. He looked just like his father. He looked about 17.

Sara had told Raven all about Maes. She said he was the hottest, most amazing guy ever. She was head over heels in love with him. She flirted with him a bit but he didn't seem to notice. She blushed a deep shade of pink. Sara had known Maes since she was younger and she had a crush on him since the day she met him.

"Sara, lets begin with you" he said "This is the venom alchemist. you shall be meeting him in combat. Try not to hurt each other."

Sara stepped into the large open space to meet her opponent. She was wearing her alchemy bracelets that had transmutation circle beads. She was ready. She clapped her hands together and activated one of the beads producing a long sword out of the floor. Her opponent created his own blade and tried to strike her. They were off fighting. Sara's specialty was air alchemy. She could create large gusts of wind and mini tornados. Her opponent shot venom at her but she used her wind to blow it away. They fought viciously for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Sara caught a lucky break and slipped through her opponent's defences. She held her sword to his throat. Mustang clapped.

"Well done. You have alot of skills. I would be happy to have you as a state alchemist." He took a piece of paper and a silver watch out of his pocket and handed them to her. "You are now the Windy alchemist" he said "Congratulations." The other children smiled at her and patted her on the back. "Next. Alphonse Eric"

Al stepped up to meet his opponent. It was the little Ishvalan girl. Her snow white hair was cut short and her round red eyes spoke of determination. She was the light alchemist. Al activated his transmutation circle bracelet and created a large spear. The girl dove at him with a dager but he easily deflected it. She then created a blinding flash of light and almost hit him but Al was a quick thinker. He created a pair of sunglasses and slipped them on. He could now see her through the light. He defended himself. They danced together for many minutes and it ended up being a draw but it was obvious that Al was an amazing alchemist even though he needed to learn that he was in fact allowed to hit girls. The little Ishvalan girl flirted with him but he didnt seem to notice.

"You would make a great State alchemist. I welcome you, the metalguts alchemist." He gave Al the watch and certificate too. Sara snickered at his codename. Now it was Raven's turn. "Raven, nice to see you again. I hope your training went well?"

"Yes sir. It went great"

"Raven here was the little alchemist who single handedly insured the Drachma alliance"

"What!" Al said "When did you have time to do that" Raven just smiled

"This is my son, Maes he is the Blazing Alchemist. good luck"

Raven faced her opponent. He was taller than her. He had messy black hair and deep black eyes. He wore gloves like his father with transmutation circles embroidered onto the back. She took a deep breath and activated her bracelet producing a pair of slim blades. She decided it was best to use transmutation circles because she did not want the Führer finding out what she had seen as easily as Ed had done. She kicked off her shoes and smiled. She had a piece of chalk between her toes but Maes need not know of that. He had his own weapon. It was a two handed sword. _If I keep him busy he can't use his alchemy_ she thought. She struck first. They danced in circles clashing steel on steel. Raven pushed him this way and led him that way in a precise beautiful dance. Multiple times he looked like he was about to use his alchemy but Raven quickly attacked even more furious so he could not. After a long half an hour of fighting Raven was ready to finish the fight. She faked a mistake and allowed herself to be held at swordpoint. It was all part of her plan. A very theatrical overcomplicated plan.

"Game over girl. That was not too hard. You didn't even use any alchemy." Maes said in a monotone voice. Ed and the others looked perplexed. Raven gave Maes a huge smile.

"I do not think it is quite over yet. I still have a trick or two up my sleeve." she said. She had a knife concealed in her sleeve. She held it up and blocked the blade and in one smooth motion, wrestled out from his grip and through her arms back and went into a back hand spring. While she was tumbling through the air, she clapped her hands together then slammed them on the ground during her hand spring activating the giant transmutation circle she drew with her feet while fighting. It glowed fluorescent blue. Maes was standing in its center. Stone pillars shot up from the floor and created a bird cage looking thing. Everyone was impressed but Maes looked furious. He clapped his hands together to use his alchemy. Raven had no time to think she clapped her hands together and made a barrier praying that the flames hid her lack of circle. Now the real fight began. Before she was just toying with him but now she was going to use all her skills. She concentrated the water vapor in the air around his gloves instantaneously soaking them but his fireball had broken her cage. They fought sword on sword again but this time Raven did not hold back at all. She was fast and graceful. She moved effortlessly without thinking. It was amazing because when she fought she didn't have to be anybody. All she had to focus on was her skills, the only things she did remember. Maes had an extremely difficult time fending her off. She eventually got them near the remains of her broken cage. She quickly vaulted onto one of the pieces of rubble and jumped over his shoulder and landed behind him with her sword held to his throat. He was panting hard but she concealed her exhaustion. _he is good. _she thought. If this were a real fight, she would have had a tougher time beating him because he would not refrain from burning her to cinders but luckily, it was not a real fight.

Everyone looked speechless. Maes did not seem amused. Führer Mustang smiled. He said congratulations and everyone was complimenting her but she did not hear them. She sensed something was amiss.

"DUCK NOW" she yelled after she figured out what was wrong. She sensed a large mass of bad chi moving rapidly towards them. It was the rebels. They shot but everyone had already hit the deck. Raven used alchemy to raise a large stone wall between them.

"What are we going to do now?" Al said

"We are going to get out of here." Mustang said. He opened a trap door in the floor and demanded everyone go down into it but his words were lost in the sound of an explosion. The Anti-alchemists broke through the wall. One had a sinister looking weapon and shot it at Sara who was standing near the wall. She collapsed and the dragged her away. Al was screaming and Ed had to hold him back. The Venom Alchemist fought back but he went down too.

"Go" Raven yelled. "I can handle these nut jobs. Meet you later. I will be able to follow your Chi once i'm done here." She did not wait for a response. She created another wall behind her between her and the others. She pulled out her swords and went to work. She was fast and took down half the men before they shot her with the device. When it hit her she collapsed. She had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She remembered it. She had felt it before. She was entering the gate.

'Back already?" the truth asked

"Yea. It seems so. How are you doing?"

"I am doing fine. Thank You. Why are you back? Didnt you learn your lesson last time?"

"I didnt mean to come back. I dont really know how I got here. Someone shot me with a weird cannon thing and poof im back here."

"I still have to collect a toll even more severe than last time. I am going to take you alchemy"

"But I have already seen what lies beyond the gate. Why should I pay twice for it?" Raven said and It smiled a bit.

"You are right. I never thought about it like that before….. hmm. I will think on it…." It trailed off and silence fell between them. After a few moments Raven spoke.

"Do you get lonely here?" she asked.

"Yes. I suppose I do" It said. a solitary tear ran down its cheek. It stared off into the distance sadly. It turned to Raven. "No one has ever asked me that before" It said glumly. It seemed touched. They remained silent, both parties unsure of what else to say. Finally, the truth broke the silence "Tell me about your new life" it said and Raven told her about everything. They laughed together at Al's shenanigans and smiled together at the thought of Winrey's apple pie. They giggled while discussing the hottest celebrities. It was like they had been best friends since the dawn of time. They had a good time and forgot the world outside.

After the pair broke out into a fit of laughter after discussing Mr. Elric's peculiar (and ugly) taste in decorations the truth started to cry. Raven was stunned by its sudden change in emotion but she instinctively hugged it and let the truth cry into her shoulder.

"There, there" Raven said "Why are you crying?"

"Because you are the first person to ever treat me like a living being" It said between sobs. "It just… It just means so much to me." The all-powerful being continued to cry. It had never been on the receiving end of this kind of compassion. The human actually cared. Despite being in an unfamiliar place, despite knowing she may lose her alchemy, she still cared about the welfare of others. The truth had taken her memories and her eye yet this child was still concerned for its well being. It was remarkable. It defied logic. It defied the law of equivalent exchange. The truth was determined to save this girl. It decided that the time she spent here was enough payment to pass through the gate.

"Go child. Go back to your friends." the truth said

"But what about the toll?"

"Your kindness has paid your toll".

When Raven heard this she was thrilled she was so happy but then she looked at the truth and was sad again.

"Is there a way I could communicate with you without having to break a taboo?" Raven asked

"I am not sure child"

"I will find a way. I promise. I will be back too. To catch up later. I will try to bring a pie with me too!"

The truth smiled and dried her tears. Raven waved goodbye and walked back through the gate. She woke up on the ground, some men were trying to drag her into a cart. She was still in Central. She spotted a clock. judging by the time, she could not have been out for more than a few minutes but to her it felt like hours. She moved a bit and the men looked shocked. She slammed her hands down onto the ground and created platforms that rocketed them to the ceiling. She stood up and stretched.

"What the hell!" one of the anti-alchemists shouted "You should be down in Hell getting punished by Leto"

"This wasn't my first trip down. I had a lovely chat and now I am back to kick some ass." Raven said as she cracked her knuckles. "So Who is first?" They all charged at once but Raven was ready. She slammed her hands on the ground again trapping all the men in metal bird cages. the impact knocked the guns out of their hands and sent them flying. More men rushed in threatening to overwhelm her. Just when she thought her life was through, someone burst through the wall behind her. She heard a snap and all of a sudden all the men in the room were engulfed in flames. The flames swirled around her leaving her unharmed. They suddenly died down leaving the room full of smoke and ash. Raven looked over her shoulder and saw through the smoke the silhouette of a young man. The smoke began to clear and to her shock it was Major Maes Mustang.

"What the hell are you doing here!" She shouted.

"Saving your ass" he said. he ran over to her. "How long would it take you to collapse the building?"

"Not long. Why?"

"If you destroy the building, they can't get us." he said. Raven felt like an idiot. she should have thought of that before. Just then more men ran in with the strange guns. Raven made a shield. Then collapsed the ceiling over the men's heads. She grabbed the strange weapon that shot her and ran to the tunnel. She felt something strange in the weapon. She looked it over and found it had a tracking device and a remote detonator. She smiled. She expertly disarmed the detonator and removed the tracking device. She drew a phoney transmutation circle and collapsed the building making it seem like she needed the circle but in reality, she did not use it. She then attached the tracker to a rat and sent it on its way. Maes looked at her strangely.

"That was a tracker. Now they will have a fun time chasing a rat through the sewers instead of us." Raven said. "Where are the others?"

"They are safely on a train to Brigs."

"A train. Under here?"

"Yup."

"How?"

"I am not really sure. but it left so we will be taking the long way to the fort. They collapsed the tunnels as they went."

"Oh. Lead the way then"

Maes led her through the twisting sewers and secret tunnels. They emerged in what they thought was an abandoned warehouse. It was clear it was not abandoned. There were anti-alchemists everywhere and they were all staring at them. Maes still had his uniform on and he was recognized as the Führer's son immediately. No one seemed to notice Raven lingering in the shadows. Raven took a deep breath allowing her to sense the chi in the room. She had to be fast if her plan was going to work. She held the strange weapon to Maes's back and pushed him into the light.

"Move it, you monster" she said as she nuzzled him with the barrel. "I caught the Führer's kid lurking in the sewer." Everyone lowered their weapons and started cheering. Maes was about to do some alchemy but he realized they had arrived in a prisoner processing facility. He could not distinguish friend from foe. He didn't know what to do.

Raven spotted the electrical box to her left. She grabbed Maes and pushed him that way. She then in one quick motion cut the lights and released Maes. She then sensed her way around the room and knocked out everyone. She turned the lights back on and saw the faces of a group of astonished prisoners and Maes. He was doing a poor job of hiding his amazement.

"Grab their uniforms and ID tags. You are now my squadron of Anti-Alchemist rebels. We are going to walk out of here." Raven said

Everyone scrambled to do what she said. Soon she was the leader of a band of anti-alchemists. She and Maes changed too. She even found a regulation eye patch to wear. She told the squad to move out and they did. She was going to march them right out of the city.

They marched unimpeded through the streets. Apparently the unit she hijacked was notorious for being violent and effective. Even those who wore higher command badges stayed clear from her unit. They reached the outermost point and were asked what they were doing. Raven said she was tracking Maes Mustang. The commanding officer did not believe her. Luckily Maes caused a distraction. He blew up a building past their line. "Move it men. We dont have time for you. we are closing in." she said as she pushed her way through. She was home free. They ran to the distant tree line and shed their uniforms. They then walked over to the State's side. The Military was not about to let them cross but someone recognised Mustang and let him and Raven go. The rest were held for questioning. Mustang gave Raven a slight smile and said "Thanks. I am glad you have my back. I can't believe we managed to walk out of Central." He stopped walking. "That was too easy. They should have questioned us more."

Raven stopped too. She had a bad feeling in her gut. She sensed bad chi deep within the camp. _Damm. I think we just smuggled Anti-alchemist soldiers into Camp. ….. No, they are not rebels.. They are the ones being attacked _. She was thoroughly confused. She then looked around and felt the dragon pulse around her. She did not like what she felt. Not one bit. Maes noticed it too. He grabbed Raven and yanked her into the shadows.

"I don't think this is a Military camp. The rations are wrong and the layout is wrong. The soldiers should not be getting so many grains. The rebels own all the big granaries. and the tents are just wrong. They should be set up in a more defendable position. "

"I've got the same feeling. No one here can use alchemy but us." His eyes grew wide.

"Lets bolt"

"Agreed."

They decided to try to sneak away but the 'Military' men would not allow it. They kept inviting Maes for drinks and other activities. Maes always declined and tried to ditch the men. Raven sensed that the anti-alchemists were starting to notice that their roose had fallen apart. Another man walked up and offered to treat Maes and Raven to Dinner and Raven saw her opportunity. She was going to make up some long winded excuse about her cousin needing her so they could leave but Maes beat her to the point.

"Thank you but I must decline." he said. He then leaned closely to the man and whispered. "I am trying to get a moment alone with Raven. I was hoping to give her a nice picnic dinner. Do you know any good places to er… be alone" He then blushed furiously. The man caught on to what he was saying.

"Sneak out through the north line at the next shift change. There is a nice rock just beyond the hill. I will keep the boys from disturbing you." he whispered back.

"Thank you so much. It would be awkward with an audience. I am planning on asking her a certain question"

"Good luck"

"Thanks. I owe you one"

Maes packed a picnic basket full of food and snuck out with Raven. He found the clearing and ate a nice dinner with her but the men had followed them into the woods. He heard them and decided he needed to take the roose a step further. He grabbed Raven's hand and he kissed her. Raven was speechless.

He whispered "Play along" in her ear and she suddenly knew his plan to buy them some more time and make it easier to be alone together. She put on her best smile and played along. She called him honey and remarked how nice it was to finally get a moment alone together. He said he was glad too. _He is pretty smart. _Raven thought_. _She was impressed. One of the men stalking them stepped on a twig. It broke with a loud crack.

"What was that?" Maes asked

"I didn't hear anything."

"Stay put. I will go check it out."

"Its probably nothing. We are safe here. It is a Military camp not occupied Central. Who is going to be sneaking around? Monsters? Stop worrying"

"I am going to check it out just to be sure"

"Fine. If it makes you feel any better"

Maes walked over to the bushes and spotted the soldiers. He blushed and yelled to Raven telling her that they were here. Raven blushed too. Maes looked embarrassed and angry.

"Do you know who the hell I am?" he yelled "If you breathe one word of this to anyone, You will be sorry."

"I know who you are sir. I am under orders to protect you sir" the man said. More men sprang out of the bushes. Then a bunch of high-ranking anti-alchemists strolled into the clearing wearing their uniforms.

"I am disappointed Major. I thought you had seen through our little roose" the man Mustang recognised as John Focke, the leader of the rebels said. "But you were simply trying to spend some time with this gorgeous little darling" He grabbed Raven's chin and wretched it upwards. Raven clamped her hands on his arm and through him onto the ground like a ragdoll. The other soldiers pointed guns at Mustang.

"Not so fast poppit." Focke said "Feisty little child. If you do something like that again I will shoot you and your little friend. Same goes for you Mustang."

"Really? I'm not very valuable when I am dead"

"Shut up." he said. He looked into Raven's eye. She sensed something was wrong. His chi felt wrong. It sent shivers down her spine. "Are you an alchemist?"

"No sir."

"You lie. Shoot her."

"I did not lie" She said lying to his face"I was one but not any more"

"Well Mustang is still one but I am not going to steal his alchemy yet. He is more valuable if left unharmed. I will do you a favor Mustang and stick you and your little girl in the same cell."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I am not sure yet."

He dragged them to a large mansion in Central and turned it into their prison. They were confined to a large bedroom. It was a nice space but Maes's hands were confined so he couldn't use alchemy. Raven surveyed the surroundings. There was no way she could escape. There were too many unknown variables. She sighed.


	5. Chapter 5: Imprisonment

Maes and Raven were imprisoned for three months. Over that time, their captors refused to speak with them and they were constantly monitored in their room. They soon became sick of each other. Raven was annoyed by Maes' moodiness and Maes was bordering furious because Raven would not tell him anything about her childhood. She refused to talk about it so Maes refused to talk to her. He was just so impossibly stubborn.

One day, they were taken out of their cell and dragged down the stairs into the manor's basement. There they faced a council with all the high ranking members on it.

"You have been summoned here to amuse us. So tell us why the Alchemy is a force for good." Focker said. Maes then went into a long debate highlighting all the good uses for alchemy and how their mass murdering of alchemists is evil. He had obviously been working on the speech the entire time they were captives. They looked bored and not impressed. When Maes's speech was bordering two hours and there was no end in sight, Raven reached her breaking point.

"Shut up Maes." She said. Everyone looked at her strangely. Maes looked furious.

"What"

"Be quiet. You are boring these people to death. they obviously are not falling for your rhetoric. I think they will respond better my way." He rolled his eyes but made no move to stop her. He learned from those three months in confinement that when she was determined to do something, She gets it done.

"Ok you lot. My turn to answer your question. The answer is simple really." She decided to use the same method she used when dealing with Ivan. She twisted out of her bonds and grabbed the gun of the nearest guard and pointed it at Maes. "Observe and do try and use an ounce of logic." The men moved to stop her but she begged them to just wait a moment and let her explain. "If I shot Maes here, or you or a random child on the street for fun, Is it good or evil?"

They were silent

"It wasn't a rhetorical question. Is it good or evil"

Everyone said evil.

"Now if I use this gun to save an innocent person from being killed by a mugger or a leader from being assassinated is it good or evil"

Everyone said good.

"Is it the gun that is evil or good or is it me who decides?"Everyone was quite. She put the gun back in the holster of the guard.

"See, the Gun is neutral neither good nor evil, It is a tool. Same is true with alchemy." the crowd exploded with objections. The main objection was that not everyone can use alchemy and alchemy was so powerful. Raven held up a hand and silenced the room.

"I don't know how to fire a gun so should Guns be outlawed? And before you object saying not being able to do alchemy is a bigger handicap in a fight than not knowing how to use a gun think on this. What if I could use a gun and shot Focker? How much change would that bring?" They were all silent. It seemed like they almost believed her. Almost. But before Raven's words completely sunk in, Focker started to clap and laugh, snapping everyone out of the trance Raven's words put them in.

"Bravo, Bravo. Nice show." he said as he grinned. "You almost had me convinced but then I remembered Ishval and that alchemetric event during the solar eclipse around twenty years ago and I remembered the horrors of Alchemy"

"Do you remember that Alchemy was what stopped the eclipse event? and Don't you dare bring up Ishval. you know nothing of Ishval." Maes said Angrily clenching his fists.

"Please enlighten us." Maes refused to answer. He just stared furiously at Focker.

"If you cared about Ishval so much why are you massacring a bunch of people?" Raven asked. drawing the attention away from Maes. He was too angry to be of any use and Raven saw she hurt his pride a bit with the whole shut up thing "Seriously. How does starting your own war of extermination make any sense? If you cared so much you would not be so eager to commit the same atrocity that you claim to abhor!"

"But when we do it, its called Justice little girl. Or as alchemists put it; the law of equivalent killed us so we kill them"

"How old am I?" Raven said.

"What?"

"How old am I?"

"I dont know. around 16 or 17?"

"Unless I fought in the Ishvalan war before I was born, I am innocent of committing that crime. It is simple logic. You want revenge not Justice." Just then, servants came into the room carrying food for the senior staff. The one closest to Raven carried a big apple pie. It smelled delicious just like Winrey's pie.

"Also the alchemists weren't the only people killing Ishvalans. Are you determined to murder every veteran of that war too? Let us not forget who ordered the conflict in the first place. Führer Bradley. He was as ordinary as you lot. No alchemy just physical strength and political power. I am not saying what the alchemists did was justified, because it was not. I am trying to make you all understand that they were not the only ones at fault. You call alchemy bad but it was only a part of the war and you all refuse to acknowledge the damage done by non-alchemetric means. You would prefer to ignore it because it does not fit the narrative that you have spun up to grant yourselves some sense of greater purpose."

The men were silent and angry and a bit confused.

"Shoot her with the weapon. Dont act so surprised. I know you still have your alchemy you little wench." Focker said. Mustang's face became concerned. "I saved her to demonstrate its potency."

Raven grabbed the pie. The servant looked stunned. Raven just smiled. The whole room was not amused.

"A pie is not going to shield you. Fire." They fired the weapon and before she knew it she was back through the gate. The truth was sitting there.

"How are you?" Raven ran and hugged the truth "I am so sorry I didn't visit sooner."

The truth stared at her. It was obviously mad that Raven had been gone so long and hurt. Raven sat down and tried to make small talk but it was useless. Then Raven remembered the Pie. She found it by the gate of truth and grabbed it and brought it over.

"Hey, I wanted to come back sooner but I couldn't ok?" Raven said. "I loved talking with you and it sure beats spending three months talking only to Major melancholy Mustang." Raven sighed. "I brought some pie" she said quietly.

The truth looked at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. It then looked at the pie and its eyes grew wide.

"I swiped it from the dinner table before I was shot" Raven said. "It might not be as good as Winrey's but it is still Apple Pie and I thought that you might want some.. even if its not the best pie. Pie is pie after all. Do you want some?"

"I would love some." the truth said. It silently forgave Raven for her lateness. "Do tell me about the Major too"

Soon Raven and the truth were back to being best friends. It giggled when Raven talked about Mustang kissing her but Raven thought it was gross. They spent what seemed like hours talking. They discussed alchemy and possible ways of communicating. The best idea they had was to augment a human transmutation circle to try to send messages. Raven thought that the machine that sent her there would hold the answer. Eventually, they ran out of things to talk about so Raven and the truth parted ways. Raven promised to try to come back when she can but made sure the Truth understood that she might not be able to until later. Raven grabbed the empty pie tin and headed back through the gate.

She woke up holding the empty pie tin. The people around her watched her intently. She had been laid on the table and was being studied by all the men there. Raven sat up, yawned and stretched. She tossed the empty tin to the servant.

"Nice pie. Give my compliments to the Chef" she said. The speechless servant rushed to do what she said.

"Now little girl, try to activate this circle I drew for you" Focker said behind her. She spun around and lazily activated it. She smiled and did a backflip over the heads of the crowd and landed on the ground.

"Impossible" he said. Maes looked relieved. "How… How…" He was speechless. "Guards terminate her life." Maes struggled and shouted for them to stop but a guard held a gun to her head and shoved her against the wall. "Any last words?" Focker said.

Raven thought for a moment. There was something strange about his chi and there was a strange chi emanating from the weapon. They were similar but not identical. It was like they contained multiple human souls or energy from humans. Then she understood. She remembered information about the creation of Philosopher stones. The pieces suddenly aligned themselves and she realized something astonishing. It left her speechless.

"No last words? Shoot her"

"The law of Equivalent Exchange" Raven shouted.

"What?"

"The law of equivalent exchange is how I know what is really going on here" she said

"Bring her over here. Let her speak" the senior staff demanded.

"No. Shoot her" Focker said

"What? Are you scared that I know the TRUTH" She said. She put extra emphasis on Truth. This arouse more objections from the soldiers. Finally, Focker was forced to give in.

"Well, I guess it cant hurt to let the crazy girl speak." he replied. she was sat back down at the table. "Explain."

"The law of equivalent exchange is the unbreakable principle in alchemy that states that to obtain something, something of equal value must be destroyed. This rule cannot be violated even with a fabled philosopher stone. But that is a different story. Does anyone know how that weapon works?" no one knew. "Well, I am just going off of my observation and experience but I believe I understand how it works. It uses a modified human transmutation circle that harvests a person's alchemetric abilities. I won't go into the details but understand this: when an alchemist performs human transmutation, a gate is opened and the alchemist is pulled through. It is a phenomenon known as the gate of truth. When a person is pulled through the gate, they learn advanced alchemetric principles but they pay a horrible toll. I heard one person paid with his physical body. A person's alchemetric ability can be used as a payment also

What this gun does is it harvests a person's alchemetric ability by partially sending him/her through the gate. The victim does not experience the gate of truth phenomenon but pays the toll for going through. They lose their alchemy without gaining anything. This violates the law of equivalent exchange because something is lost yet seemingly nothing is gained. BUT this is where it gets interesting. The price of alchemetric ability is fairly high. It is equivalent to bringing back someone's entire body from beyond the gate. So where is all that energy going. I know for a fact that it is not lost, only stored. Inside the guns. If I opened up that gun I bet I would find a stone similar to a philosopher's stone. So let me ask you this: Is your crusade a heroic fight to extinguish alchemy or are you all being conned into amassing energy for an unknown party?"

The men seemed to believe her. Focker was stunned and Maes looked like he just had a Eureka moment too.

"Prove it."

"That gun had been used on twelve alchemists."

"She is right sir." The gun operator said.

"I sense the tolls paid."

"What were you all promised? Immortality?" Maes shouted angrily he just realized the severity of the situation. "Because the last bunch of idiots believing in your stupid plan sure achieved immortality." He laughed. He looked at the blank faces and stopped laughing. He had miscalculated. They were not in fact in on the plan. He decided to adapt. "Oh! So he has not offered you all anything? Interesting. The locations of your secret alchemist concentration camps. They are Riviere, Cameron, Friske, Wellesley, South City, Ishval, Fotset, Pendelton and Brigs. Aren't they?"

The whole room was stunned. He listed camps that hadn't even been built yet. Focke remained skeptical he decided he had heard enough.

"Send them back to their room. I need to converse with my counselors in private."

They were hastily dragged back up the stairs and dumped back into their cell.

"Hey Raven, are you okay?" Maes said.

"Yea." she said she was clutching her head. She just realized the enormity of what was occurring. "Maes, I think I went too far. Someone is going to want to silence me now. I know it."

"Dont be silly"

"If I die someone has to know it all. Listen." She whispered everything that had happened to her in his ear including the human transmutation and her friend, truth. She was extremely cryptic but he understood her perfectly. He looped his shackled hands over her head and hugged her. Raven was shocked.

"So thats how you do circleless alchemy" he whispered. He knew she didn't have to use a circle. She never told him about it but he noticed. "Raven if we are going to die I want you to know something."

"Yea…. wait a minute." she said cutting him off. She can't believe she had been so stupid. "I dont need a circle to do alchemy and my hands aren't bound…. Why the hell didn't I think of this three months ago."

Maes thought it through too. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it either. The answer was staring them right in the face yet they had been too blind to see it.

"Give me your hands." Raven said. She broke his bonds. She then escaped with him out of their room. They ran down the hallway and Maes spotted his transmutation gloves. He slipped them on and smiled. Raven made them a pair of swords and handed one to Maes. Raven knocked out the guard and went down the back stairs into the kitchen. All the guards were concentrated on protecting the basement and were not paying much attention to the prisoners. There she found a few more guards and to her utter amazement, Sara. They were forcing Sara to work in the kitchens. She looked like she was in bad shape. The guards brought out the dreaded weapons. Sara fainted at the sight of them. Mustang scooped her up and Raven ran for the guns. She was fast when provoked. She touched the guns, drew their stored power and destroyed them all. She then used the extra power they gave her to level the house. She then created a car from the rubble before the soldiers emerged from the basement. She was tired, like using alchemy had made her exhausted. She ran to the car but was shot in the leg. All she remembered was Maes lifting her up and setting her in the car before driving off. Maes drove like crazy. He told Raven not to die, he said he loved her but she had already blacked out. Sara woke up and took over the wheel but by that time Raven had lost a ton of blood. Maes used his flame alchemy to cauterize the wound and he prayed he wasn't too late to save her. He scooped her up and told Sara to slow down. She did. Maes put a rock on the gas and opened the door. They were passing over a bridge on next to central command. He pushed Sara out the door and into the water and then jumped too. He landed in the dark water and found Sara. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her under. He let memory guide him to a secret tunnel near the inner wall of Central. He then held his breath and dragged the girls through the underwater entrance. He emerged in the tunnel, exhausted and out of breath. He looked at Raven but she was still out cold. He heard footsteps approaching from deeper in the tunnel so he drew out a knife and prepared to fight. He was about to attack when he saw the intruder's face. He recognised the distinctive X shaped scar that ran across his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" Maes said happily. "Boy am I glad to see a friendly face."

The Ishvalan known as scar grunted. "Looking for you" he said. "And anyone else around here. Who are your friends?"

"Sara Elric and Raven Smith. Both State alchemists. Sara is a bit shaken up and Raven has been shot in the leg. She lost alot of blood" Maes responded grimly.

"We better get going then. We will need to meet up with the others. Follow me."

Scar led the way followed by Maes carrying Raven and Sara limping slowly behind. Sara was too slow so Scar carried her. They walked through the tunnels for hours and eventually arrived in a pipe North of the city. Scar uncovered a car he hid in the bushes. He stuck them inside and headed North. They drove for over a day. Raven was still unconscious. They arrived at a big mansion with tents out front. Scar led Maes who was carrying Raven into a medical tent where Dr. Marcoh tended to her wounds. He operated on her pulling the bullet out of her leg. She was lucky, it looked like she had only minor damage to her muscles and her bones were intact. She should be able to make a full recovery. Maes sat by her side the entire time. He stayed up for hours watching over her. Mr. Elric came in with Sara and Al later. It was obvious that he had been crying. Scar told Maes what was wrong. Apparently the abandoned mansion they were camped outside of belonged to his brother Al. There was no way to get inside. It was sealed with some sort of alchemy the likes of which Ed had never seen before. He was worried that Al had been taken or something. He didn't know what happened. Sara and Ed offered some words of encouragement to Maes and left. Maes fell into a light sleep and checked on Raven whenever he awoke. He awoke in the middle of the night and found her gone. He ran out of the tent searching for her. He found her on her sobbing before the mansion. She opened the door and went inside. Maes followed her. He called her name but it was like she was in a trance. She only stopped when she collapsed due to the pain in her leg becoming unbearable. She was crying.

"This is where I… I… did it" she said between sobs. Maes held her in his arms and comforted her. Mr. Elric rushed in later and found them. He tore off a piece of his pant leg and handed it to Raven to use to dry her eyes. He examined the house and found the transmutation circle in the basement along with the bodies she transmuted. He examined her careful notes and was shocked to see that she attempted to sacrifice two humans. He looked closely at the remains and the leftover material at the center of the circle. Among the piles of extra salt and phosphorus, he found two philosopher's stones. He looked around again. In the family room he found the remains of the original boy, the one the two downstairs seemed to be identical copies of the original. It was like she figured out how to make a body but she bound the souls of her captives to it. Mr. Elric found a steel necklace next to the original remains. He picked it up and began to cry. He knew who the body was. It was his nephew Edward. He hadnt seen little Ed or his two nieces since the war started ten years ago. He had never met Nina, the youngest niece who was now five. Mr. Elric had made Ed that necklace from spare bits of Al's armour that he had lying around. He cried. Raven tried to bring back Ed by sacrificing the men who killed him. But there was still two problems with that version of events: where was Al, May and young Ed's siblings and where did the philosopher's stones come from?

Then it hit Ed. He ran over and grabbed Raven's hands.

"I need you to think hard about the day you performed the transmutation" he said. there was fire in his golden eyes. Maes objected saying he shouldn't ask so much from her but Ed insisted. "Raven, the men you killed when you woke up, was there anything odd about them?"

Raven thought long and hard but then she remembered the man's strange comments and she nodded. "One of the men said he couldn't die. He said it was impossible."

"I think those men were Homunculi" Mr. Elric said. The philosopher's stones came from the homunculi and next to Ed's body he found familiar black ash that is left behind after a Homunculus is injured. He held the secret of the identity of the person she tried to bring back in her heart along with the secret that she sacrificed two homunculi to do it. He knew there was no use in interrogating Raven but he did know another witness. If only he knew why she refused to speak…

The trio sat in silence for a long time. Eventually, an exhausted Raven drifted off into sleep. Maes put his jacket around her and let her sleep on his shoulder. He smiled a bit.

"Poor girl." Maes said. "I can't imagine the hell she is going through."

"Yea…" Mr. Elric responded. Something in his voice told Maes he knew exactly what she was going through. Ed smiled a bit. "I admire her though. Through all that pain she was left with a terrible burden and two strong legs to use to bear it" Maes looked at Mr. Elric intently and noticed his torn pant leg. He saw that Mr. Elric had an Automail leg. Maes rethought everything he knew about Mr. Elric and he finally understood. Mr. Elric had once done it too. Maes did not say anything because he did not know what to say.

"What would you have done if you were her?" Maes asked.

"Exactly the same thing. The amazing thing about her is how she handled it. She did have any idea where she was so she did the most logical yet astounding thing"

Maes gave Mr. Elric a puzzled look.

"She got up and she kept moving forward. It is remarkable how many people choose to languish in their sorrow; Lamenting their situation yet do nothing to change it. She did the brave thing. She got up and decided that since she did not like where she was, she was going to change it. Raven stood on her two strong feet and walked away proudly. She did not run from her past but she did not let it consume her either. Raven is remarkable because she chose to accept the fact that she could not change the past so she made a better future. The poor child does not even know her name"

"Her name is Raven." Maes said.

"She told you what she lost right?"

"Yes. but that still does not change who she is now. The past is the past. Today is a nice day and today she is Raven and that is all she needs to be."

" She told me once that when she wandered the wild she decided something. She said that she woke up nobody but she is determined to become somebody even if that somebody is not who she was."

"She sure has left her mark on the world." Maes said as he tenderly readjusted her jacket blanket that had fallen off. Mr. Elric suddenly started smiling.

"You love her. Don't you?" Ed said. Maes was surprised he blushed furiously. "It's ok, I wont tell anyone. Its getting late. We should return Raven to the medical tent."

Maes scooped Raven up and carried her back to the medical tent. He never noticed how small she was before. He was amazed that the tough fiery girl who could bring a room full of grown men to their knees with only her words was so light and tiny. In his arms she seemed so vulnerable but when she stood on her own two feet, Maes knew she could conquer the world.


End file.
